Smaller shops ring the changes

CONVENIENCE stores are leading the transformation of the retailing sector, according to a report published yesterday.

A survey of lifestyle and shopping habits found convenience stores, which include brands such as Spar, Centra and Mace, had eaten into the retailing market on both sides of the Border and that 80% of shoppers used them regularly to buy food on the way home from work.

The survey, carried out by market research agency Mintel, said convenience stores had benefited from longer working hours; longer commuting journeys; less free time and a greater proportion of women in the workforce.

Mintel senior consultant Alison Surgeoner said the growth in convenience retailing had not gone unnoticed by supermarket chains, which were moving to gain a slice of the market by opening smaller-scale outlets in prime locations in town centres.

Laws forbidding below-cost selling were having an affect on food prices, which Mintel said were the highest in Europe. Other legislation aimed at capping the size of supermarkets meant bigger chains could not cut prices as aggressively as they wished, a factor that benefited the convenience sector by allowing it to charge higher prices.

Mintel said 56% of shoppers visited multiples or discount supermarkets at least once a week. Convenience shoppers accounted for a third of the market, while “emergency shoppers,” those visiting a shop to buy an item needed in a hurry, made up 27% of the survey.